AF Ifll ask you some questions. I often see young Japanese people have
a lot of stickers on their cell phones. What are those small stickers?

Those stickers are called epri-kuraf. There are a lot of pri-kura machines
in town where you can take photographs of yourself with your friends or
family members. Those machines have all kinds of backgrounds that you
can choose from, so you can take pictures with whatever backgrounds you
like. For example, in autumn, you may want to take pri-kuras of yourself
and your friends against the background of autumn leaves. My daughter
collects pri-kuras, and sometimes shows me her pri-kura pictures of her
best friends, boy friend, teachers c

AF Teachers?

Yes. I think she took that picture during her school excursion.

AF OK. Next question. Do you think the bubble economy will come again?

No, I donft think so. People learned a lot from the last recession. They
are now more careful about how to spend money.

AF The Japanese economy is better now. Do you think Mr. Koizumi can be
credited with this?

Yes. I think that Mr. Koizumi contributed to improving the economic situation.
The efforts of the government and private companies are beginning to bear
fruit. The reforms such as the privatization of Japan Post will further
lead to the economic recovery.

AF I will ask you another question. What is uchiwa?

Uchiwa is a flat paper fan with a plastic or wooden hundle. It is used
for keeping oneself cool in summer, or fanning a fire.